Seamlessly smooth in it's presentation, Armitage III presents us with a vision of the future - but it's not the future you'd choose.

Ross Sylibus is a Chicago cop, reassigned to the MTD to investigate Technology crimes. And even as he gets off the shuttle, he's faced with a biggie - the apparent murder of a Country singer - only it's not exactly murder, because she turns out to be a 'third type', a robot indistinguishable from humans. Ross is lumbered with a partner he'd never choose - Naomi Armitage. She's short, feisty, and very, very independant. And together, they try to find out exactly why somebody wants all the Thirds eliminated.

The impression I got from this excellent piece of animation is that it was a mix of a couple of classic, great movies: Blade Runner and Total Recall. In fact, this could well BE Blade Runner - because once you figure out the similarities, the plot twists really don't surprise you as much as the moviemakers would hope.

You know that the real reason for the 'killings' is bigger that anyone thinks. You know that Naomi and Ross will fall for each other. And you know that at least one of them are not what they seem to be. The only thing you really need to guess at is when these items will be revealed.

Overall, the movie is slick, glossy, and well presented. The soundtrack is superb, the graphic presentation top-drawer, and the use of such established stars as Keifer Sutherland and Elizabeth Berkeley indicate a professionalism and investment in the production that many other Anime productions lack.

It's just a shame that it's picked a plot that had already been done so much better 15 years earlier.